Decoy



Patented Nigy 21, 1940 Joseph Chester Fox, Seattle, ApplicationSeptember 2c. 1938, Serial No. 231,873

12 Claims.

Buoyant decoys, such as ducks, have heretofore been made of variousmaterials, but usually they are of wood or similar material, ballasted gor formed to remain upright 'while floating, yet of considerable weightand bulk, or if printed or painted upon a flat surface they aresupported upon a float, and while somewhat less bulky and of less weightthan the wooden decoys, they are still bulky, rather fragile, and notvery life-like in appearance. It is therefore a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a buoyant decoy which is light in weight,rugged, and capable of being collapsed to very small compass,

and which will, when floating upon the water,

assume, substantially automatically, a plump, lite-like form, and floatwith proper appearance upon the water.

More specifically it is an obfiect to provide a decoy composedsubstantially entirely of flexible and collapsible material, notinherently form-sustaining buthollow, so that it-may be compacted fortransportation, and with a bottom opening so that when set down upon thewater it will trap air within it and thereby cause the body portion tobe plumped out into lifelike form, and to float in natural position uponthe water.

Among other objects are, to provide a decoy oi. the general typeindicated, which will be stable upon the water, not subject to tiltingor undue movement from wave or wind action; one in which the position ofthe decoy in the water may be adjusted when desired; and one which maybe provided with auxiliary flotation means, so that if the hollowbuoyant body is punctured, as by a shot, the material, though collapsed,will still be sustained on the surface, and can be recovered andrepaired.

It'is a further object to provide such a decoy which, by reason of itsform and the material of which it is made, may readily be repaired,should leaks occur.

It is a further object to provide such a decoy which may be manufacturedeasily andrelatively cheaply by known manufacturing processes, andwhich-can therefore be sold at a low retail price, and which will proveserviceable. and rug- Bed in use.

With such objects in mind, and others as will appear later, my inventioncomprises the novel decoy, and the novel composition and arrangement ofthe several parts thereof, in relation to each other, as shown in theaccompanying drawing, and as will be hereinafter more particularlydisclosed and deflned.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown [my invention embodied in forms'which'are at present preferred by me.. V

Figure 1 is a side elevation with a part bro ken away, showing the decoyas it would appear while floating upon water, and Figure .2 is a crosssection through the same on the line 2! 01' Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevation, showing the form the decoy assumes, at thetime of placing'it in the water, and the manner of setting it into thewater. Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of a somewhat modifiedballastingarrangement, and Figure 5 is a longitudinalvertical section,illustrating an optional auxiliary flotation means. The material ofwhich the decoy is iormed is of importance to the attainment of theobjects in view. Substantially the entire decoy may be formed of rubber,or a similar flexible, impermeable and collapsible material, for by theuse of such material the entire decoy may be collapsed and, ifnecessary, rolled or packed into small compass, and it is also possibleto make it quite light when so constructed. Instead of rubber the decoymay be made of rubberized iabric, or similar material, in part orwholly.

The body I of the decoy is thus formed as a hollow body of suitableexterior shape and 01' such collapsible material. A bottom opening,preferably one of considerable horizontal area, admits to its interior.It is immaterial whether the head 2 and tail 3 be incorporated asintegral parts of the hollowbody or be separate hollow bodies or merelyapproximate representations or the corresponding parts of the duck. Inthe preferred form of the decoy the head 2 is hollow, but is separatedby a diaphragm I from the interior of the body I, and a drain aperture'5 is provided at the low point of the hollow head, so that no water mayremain within the head. The material of the head is sufllcientlyformsustaining that when the body I is plumped out the head will assumea substantially life-like form and-appearance. On the other hand thetail 3 mlgy be formed merely as an extension of the bac The material ofthe body is extended downwardly to an appreciable distance below theintended water level, or a separate skirt I is secured to the bottom ofthe body, about its bottom opening, this skirt constitutingthe downwardextension. The skirt is also provided with a large bottom opening I,which is freely open at i all times for entrance of air and water. To a;

hold it open and to insure that it will be open at all times a marginalhoop of suitable character may be employed about the bottom opening 1.Thus for instance within a hem formed by turning upwardly the bottom ofthe skirt may be supported a hoop consisting of a length of flexiblerubber hose 8. This has suflicient inherent stiffness to hold the bottomopening distended at all times, yet it is flexible. In addition thebottom hem or the hose 8 serves as a convenient container for weights 9,for instance small shot, whereby the skirt at its lower edge is weightedand pulled downward into the water. If desired the shot need notcompletely flll the hose 8, and ii the latter extends completely aroundthe bottom opening, then the shot may beadjusted from place to placewithin the hose, and so distributed as to vary the tilt of the decoy inthe water.

Except for an attaching device III, to which an anchor or tether cord llmay be secured, this completes the decoy, in its preferred form.

In use the decoy ls grasped in the hand of the user, as shown in Figure3, adjacent the middle of its back, and is lifted. This causes the bodyI to collapse and hang rather limply, with its sides close together. Thebottom opening 7, however, is maintained distended and held downward bythe hoop 8, which in itself constitutes a weight, and by the additionalweights 9, if these are employed. Thus limp and collapsed, the decoy islet down until the bottom opening I is submerged, and it may then bereleased. The result is that a certain amount 01' air is trapped withinthe body. The weight at 8 and 9 tends to draw the decoy downward, andthis trapped air, pushed upward into the body by the water rising withinthe skirt 6, plumps out the body I and affords it sufllcientdisplacement and buoyancy that the decfij floats.

The size and proportions of the body, the stiffness of its material soas to regulate the degree of limpness, the length of the skirt 6 and theweight at its lower margin, are all so regulated relatively as to aflordthe proper amount of plumping out and the proper amount of buoyancy tomake the decoy float at the proper level, and with the proper stability.Its stability is assured by the low-hung weight at 8 and 9, and furtherby the downward extent of the skirt 6, and the dead water trappedtherein, acting as a keel to maintain stability, even though there beconsiderable wind or wave action, or both.

When it is desired to pick up the decoy it is only necessary to grasp itas before and to lift it out of the water, whereupon itimmediatelybecomes limp, the trapped air having been released by raising the bottomopening 1 above the water level.

Since such decoys are liable occasionally to be punctured with strayshot, or to become leaky through deterioration or accident, I may insome instances provide an auxiliary flotation device, such as the floatl2, secured to the decoy in any suitable means, as by the loose cordsI3. I desire to emphasize that the float I2 is not the means by whichthe decoy is primarily caused to become buoyant. Preferably the cordsI3, in the operative position of the decoy and float l2, are limp andloose, so that the float exerts no buoyant eiTect upon the decoy.However, if the body I becomes punctured it will collapse, and the floatI2 is so proportioned as to afford suflicient buoyance to prevent thedecoy sinking to the bottom, and thus floating, though collapsed, it maybe recovered and repaired.

The construction of the decoy lends itself admirably to the repair ofleaks. The entire ,body may be turned inside out, if need be, or in thealternative, all parts of the interior are easily accessible through thebottom opening 1, and a patch may be applied just as in the case of apunctured inner casing of an automobile tire. Such repairs may beaccomplished on the duck flats under conditions of use, so that if adecoy is; accidentally punctured it may quickly be repaired and againput in service without leaving the marsh.

It has been pointed out how the attitude of the buoyant decoy on thewater may be varied by adjusting the shot from place to place within thehoseor hoop 8. It may also be adjusted in various other ways. Forinstance, the weight M, supplementary. to or in substitution for theweight at 9, may be mounted for movement lengthwise of a support l5,which support may be applied at its forked ends IE to the marginal hoop8. Thus the weight may be applied or removed as desired, and may beadjusted lengthwise of the duck to vary its attitude while floating onthe water.

Such a decoy is truly buoyant and stable. It will not tilt over, butwill rise and fall with the waves, as does a live duck. There ispractically no possibility of escape of the trapped air through thebottom opening 1, for this opening is so far beneath the surface, andthe water rising within the skirt 6 forms so secure a seal, that escapeof air from the interior is practically impossible. The entire decoy,being made of collapsible material, may be stored and carried readily,and it is" of extremely light weight. It may be made, of course, in theform of other birds, or to simulate any object desired.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, open at its bottom, and a weight attached adjacent thebottom of the body, of sufficient mass to hold the open bottomsubmerged, the decoy being plumped into life-like form, and renderedbuoyant, by air trapped within it upon submergence of the bottomopening, under the influence of each weight.

2. A buoyant decoy comprising a hollow collapsible body of suitableexterior form, open at its bottom, a skirt depending below the waterline, about such bottom opening, and likewise open at its bottom, and aweight depending from the skirt, the decoy being plumped into life-likeform, and rendered buoyant, by air trapped within it upon submergence ofthe skirts bottom opening, under the influence of such weight.

3. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, open at its bottom, a weight attached adjacent the bottomof the body, of suiflcient mass to hold the open bottom submerged, thedecoy being plumped into life-like form, and rendered buoyant, by airtrapped within it upon submergence of the bottom opening, and auxiliaryflotation means connected to the body to sustain it in the event it ispunctured.

4. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, open at its bottom, a weight attached adjacent the bottomof the body, of sufiicient mass to hold the open bottom submerged, thedecoy being plumped into life-like form, and rendered buoyant, by airtrapped within it upon submergence of the bottom opening, and a floatconnected to the body, and disposed within its bottom opening, ofsufficient buoyancy to sustain it if the body is punctured.

5. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, having a bottom opening, a hoop disposed about suchopening to keep it open to trap air to plump out and buoy up the body,and a ballasting weight to hold such bottom opening submerged, and thebody upright.

6. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, having a bottom opening, a flexible hoop disposed aboutsuch opening, and having sufficient stiffness to keep the opening opento trap air to plump out and buoy up the body, and a ballasting weightsupported from the lower part of the body to hold the bottom openingsubmerged and the body upright.

7. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, having a bottom opening, a skirt depending below andabout said opening, and itself open at its bottom, a flexible weightedhoop disposed about the skirts bottom, to maintain such bottom open totrap air to plump out and buoy up the body, and to hold the skirtsopening sufiiciently below the waters surface to prevent escape of theair trapped. within the body.

8. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, having a bottom opening arranged to be closed by thewater in which the decoy is placed, and a weight supported from thelower part of the body to maintain the bottom opening submerged, therebyto trap air to plump out and buoy up the body, the weight beingadjustable relative to the body to vary the trim of the body.

9. A buoyant decoy comprising a collapsible hollow body of suitableexterior form, having a bottom opening, and a weight-filled rubber hosesupported about the margin of the bottom opening, to hold the openingwell below water level, to plump out and buoy up the body by entrapmentof air, and to stabilize the buoyant body.

10. A buoyant decoy comprising a hollow body of rubber or likecollapsible material impermeable to air and water, of suitable exteriorform above the water level, extending well below the water level andhaving a bottom opening, arranged to be closed by the water in which thedecoy is placed, and whereby water rising within the downward extensionwill trap suflicient air within the body to plump it out and to buoy itup, and a ballasting weight supported from the lower part of the body,the proportions of the body, its downward extension, and the weightbeing such that the body floats at a natural level and is stabilized bythe weight. and by water rising within the extension when the decoy, incollapsed condition, is dropped into the water.

11. A buoyant decoy comprising a hollow collapsible body of suitableexterior form, impermeable to air, and open at its bottom for entranceof air to its interior, the center of gravity of the decoy being locatedsuiiiciently low that its open bottom is thereby held submerged while itis floating, the decoy being plumped into lifelike form, and renderedbuoyant, by air trapped within it as the open bottom is submerged underthe influence of the decoys weight distribution.

12. In a buoyant decoy which comprises a collapsible hollow body ofsuitable exterior form, having a bottom opening, and which is plumpedinto life-like form and rendered buoyant by air trapped within it whenits bottom opening is submerged, a flexible and inherently distendiblehoop disposed about such opening to hold it open automatically forentrapment of air, as the decoy is placed upon the water's surface.

JOSEPH CHESTER FOX.

